Since 2001, business school alums from Harvard and Stanford have provided
strategic advice and guidance to DC-area nonprofits. In 2003, the COMPASS
Alliance was founded, consolidating the local Harvard and Stanford efforts and
welcoming the participation of Wharton and Tuck alumni.
We are proud to present the list of current and past projects that our alumni
volunteers have so generously contributed to:
COMPASS Projects for 2007-2008
ACADEMIA BILINGUE DE LA COMMUNIDAD PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
Washington, DC
www.abcpcs.org
Mission: ABC offers a free and unique dual language (Spanish and English) immersion program to 6th,
7th and 8th graders in Washington, DC. The mission of ABC is to graduate adept learners, effective communicators and
community leaders who are culturally aware and prepared to use their academic skills and bilingual proficiency to succeed
in rigorous high schools, post-secondary education, and society.
Project description: ABC has experienced great growth and success over its first two years of operation,
expecting to serve 150 students in 2007-08. The Compass team will work with the school founder and Board of Directors
to evaluate the school’s strategic options going forward. Options include establishing the DC campus as a model
for other schools around the country or expanding into high school grades. The team will conduct stakeholder interviews
and focus groups to understand the needs of the community and the core strengths of ABC’s unique dual language curriculum.
The team will also examine the financial consequences of pursuing the different strategic options.
ARENA STAGE
Washington, DC
www.arenastage.org
Mission: The core purpose of Arena Stage is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound,
deep and dangerous in the American spirit. As part of their aims to instill in the public a life-long love of the theater arts,
Arena Stage established a Community Engagement Division to nurture a new generation of theater-goers, help youth discover their
creative talents, and provide forums for young people to explore the art more fully. Arena’s Community Engagement programs
provide curriculum-enhancing and age appropriate programs that reach thousands of youth throughout the region. Much of Arena’s
educational programming is targeted specifically to the DC public school system.
Project description: Arena’s Community Engagement programs are financially supported in part by Camp Arena Stage,
which provides a summer of unforgettable theater, dance, music and visual arts experiences to children. Camp Arena Stage brings together
campers from diverse economic and racial backgrounds to explore, discover and create art. The camp just finished its third year and wants
to reassess its positioning in the DC-metro area camp marketplace. The project will include: Assessing the current Camp Arena Stage
business and communications plans, analyzing similar summer camp programs for best practices in marketing, and helping Arena refocus
the Camp business plan to increase interest and support long-term expansion plans. This project has a strong emphasis on communications
and marketing.
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER WASHINGTON
Silver Spring, MD
www.bgcgw.org
Mission: The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW) is to help boys and girls of all
backgrounds, especially those who need us most, build confidence, develop character and acquire the skills needed to become productive,
civic-minded, responsible adults.
Project description: BGCGW provides year-round programs - social, athletic, educational - for a diverse population of
nearly 30,000 boys and girls from 6 to 18, many of whom come from disadvantaged communities. BGCGW also provides a summer camping
experience at Camp Ernest W. Brown, a 168-acre camp located along the Potomac River in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. BGCGW wants
to determine how to raise funds and generate revenues for the operation of Camp Brown. Currently, about 800 children attend Camp Brown
during July and August. The facility has room to accommodate more than 1,000 campers.
BGCGW would like increase the number of kids who enjoy a rural vacation from the inner city, and explore the feasibility of leasing
Camp Brown to potential users (churches, businesses, schools, social groups, etc.) throughout the year to finance the summer program
and a facility upgrades. Both options raise a number of questions about BGCGW’s funding strategy for Camp Brown. The COMPASS
project team would take on the task of reviewing the BGCGW options and recommending a funding program for BGCGW.
CHILD AND FAMILY NETWORK CENTERS
Alexandria, VA
www.cfnc-online.org
Mission: To provide caring, high-quality, free education and related services to at-risk children and families in
their own neighborhoods in order to prepare and empower them for success in school and life.
Project description: The CFNC project is a strategic funding project. The organization primarily provides free
pre-school for poverty level children in Northern Virginia with a variety of related health and family services needed to ensure
the child can enter kindergarten at a level comparable to children who can afford pre-school. CFNC serves about 200 children and
their families (approximately 800 individuals based on a family of 4). CFNC is looking for assistance in developing a new,
strategic framework and approach to their fundraising activities. The project will involve gathering information from key
constituents, identifying potential fundraising opportunities, and developing strategic objectives for the staff and board.
COMMUNITY LODGINGS
Alexandria, VA
www.communitylodgings.org
Mission: Community Lodgings helps low-income families and formerly homeless families in Alexandria become stable
and self-sufficient through a range of inter-connected programs including transitional and affordable housing, employment assistance,
mentoring, and language and computer skills.
Project description: COMPASS will work with Community Lodgings to turn its formal mission and vision statement into
prioritized pieces that can be put into a strategic plan. These priorities will help Community Lodgings align its decision-making
over the coming years. This is a classic business case of an organization wishing to formalize and tighten its strategy to sustain
recent growth.
COMMUNITY MINISTRY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Rockville, MD
www.communityministrymc.org
Mission: CMMC’s mission is to pursue social justice with an emphasis on identifying and meeting the needs of
the poor by leading and engaging Montgomery County’s faith communities in service, education, and advocacy.
Project description: CMMC is seeking a comprehensive fundraising plan that will enable them to better understand
their existing donor base. CMMC needs a roadmap to maximize their current funding base, as well as to take advantage of additional
revenue opportunities. Later this year, CMMC will be changing their name to Interfaith Works. Though this is a big transition for
an organization with deep and long-standing roots in the community, CMMC sees re-launching and re-brandinging as an opportunity
to find new friends in the community who do not know the agency or its work. CMMC seeks a two-year fundraising plan that will be a
concrete "how to" plan with targeted revenue goals, initiatives, events, and activities, including look at untapped
Board potential in fundraising.
HORTON’S KIDS
Washington, DC
www.hortonskids.org
Mission: For 18 years, Horton’s Kids’ mission has been to provide comprehensive, direct services to
the children of Washington DC’s Ward 8, which improve the quality of their daily lives and nurture each child’s desire
and ability to succeed.
Project description: Horton’s Kids provides tutoring, one-on-one mentoring, dental and vision care, emergency
healthcare, advocacy, family support and enrichment activities.
The COMPASS team will focus on two project objectives: 1) refining the organization’s service priorities given the strengths
and interests of the organization and its volunteer base, and the needs of the target families, and 2) analyzing potential uses of
surplus funds to ensure alignment with these service priorities. Through Board interviews, staff and volunteer focus groups, SWOT
analyses and other activities, the COMPASS team will work to ensure that all Horton’s Kids stakeholder perspectives are
understood and considered.
IDENTITY, INC.
Gaithersburg, MD
www.identity.ws
Mission: Identity’s mission is to empower Latino youth to reach their full potential through culturally and
linguistically competent youth and family-based initiatives. Identity delivers education and leadership training to youth and
their families in Montgomery County.
Project description: Identity is a fast-growing organization providing services to Latino youth throughout Montgomery
County. They have an annual budget of over $2 million, but currently, over 90 percent of that funding is from government sources.
Identity wants to diversify their funding and attract new contributed income from individuals and corporations throughout Montgomery
County. The COMPASS team would create a funding plan to segment the market, assess Identity’s competitors, and propose recommendations
to help Identity pursue their goal.
THE MUSICAL THEATER CENTER
Rockville, MD
www.musicaltheatercenter.org
Mission: The Musical Theater Center (MTC) is dedicated to promoting the musical theater art form through performance,
education and advocacy, providing students of all ages the highest quality performing arts education with a focus on training in the
musical theater disciplines of voice, dance and acting and to making its programs accessible to all children.
Project description: The objective of the project is to develop a comprehensive 3-5 year funding strategy which addresses
both the organization’s earned and contributed income. MTC’s biggest goal is to achieve financial stability so the organization
can focus more on programming – student classes and productions – and outreach. MTC would like to offer more scholarships to
children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and provide more school programming. The Compass team will help MTC explore the
possibilities for increasing funding through diverse sources. The team will also help MTC think through the possibility of hiring its
first Development Director.
ROSEMOUNT CENTER
Washington, DC
www.rosemountcenter.com
Mission: Rosemount’s mission is to prepare children and families for their future by providing comprehensive early
childhood education and family support services in a bilingual multicultural setting.
Project description: The District of Columbia faces an ever growing demand for high quality, bilingual childcare centers.
In light of this demand, Rosemount has decided to expand the number of families they serve in the under-poverty line community. Rosemount
currently serves 147 children in their center, and another 165 children through home visits. Over 500 children are on Rosemount’s
waitlist. The Compass team will help give direction and guidance to Rosemount’s staff, board and parents regarding the possibility
of a “Rosemount 2.” Options include expanding vertically (adding grades to continue to serve current students as they grow older)
or horizontally (adding more spaces for infant/toddler and preschool children). Rosemount also wants to consider the different options of
expanding in its current community or expanding in another location.
SITAR ARTS CENTER
Washington, DC
www.sitarartscenter.org
Mission: Sitar Arts Center provides young people in its inner-city community the opportunity to discover their gifts in
the visual and performing arts.
Project description: Sitar Arts Center was founded 10 years ago to provide arts education to low-income children in Adams
Morgan, Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. The Center's programs are built on the knowledge that exposure to the arts dramatically enhances
learning skills, cognitive development, social awareness and self esteem. Sitar Arts Center partners with arts institutions in DC that include
the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Ballet, CityDance Ensemble, The Corcoran Museum, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Washington
National Opera, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Washington Performing Arts Society. Sitar Arts Center recently
moved into a beautiful new facility. They currently serve 350 children, and have the capacity to serve 500. This is a pivotal point for the
organization. Sitar Arts Center would like to expand corporate giving as part of its annual fundraising to support additional programming
and outreach to the community. The Compass team will analyze Sitar Arts Center’s programs and demographics in order to match them with
the needs and interests of corporations, and help position the Center’s programs to increase the quantity of corporate contributions.
URBAN ALLIANCE
Washington, DC
www.urbanalliancefoundation.org
Mission: Urban Alliance places high school students from under-served areas of the city in intensive, year-round professional
internships with leading employers and provides ongoing mentoring and education to prepare those students to become strong, self-sufficient
young adults.
Project description: Urban Alliance has enjoyed tremendous growth in its scale of operations and revenues over the past 11
years. Urban Alliance is looking to COMPASS for assistance in updating the composition and structure of its Board of Directors to reflect
its current and projected needs. COMPASS’ work will help strategically enlarge the Board, identify work group roles, and enhance
Board structures. This is an excellent opportunity for COMPASS volunteers wanting to help a successful organization transition from its
original Board architecture to a new one.
VEHICLES FOR CHANGE
Baltimore, MD
www.vehiclesforchange.org
Mission: Vehicles for Change provides automobiles to working poor families so that they can achieve the financial and
personal independence that comes from owning a vehicle.
Project description: VFC is a nonprofit organization that provides donated cars to low-income recipients who need them
to get to their jobs. Since 1999, VFC has awarded more that 1,800 cars and currently awards 40 to 50 cars a month to low-income families
identified by local governments and nonprofit groups in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. VFC has asked Compass to help develop a plan
to double in the next two years the number of car donations.
VFC competes with many organizations for car donations. However, unlike many of these competitors, VFC has a new and distinct \
advantage rooted in recent tax changes. These changes are a significant advantage for VFC donors, but present a challenge to VFC
as they try to convey this change to the public in short media sound bites. In addition, VFC has begun to appeal to corporations and
government agencies for donations from their fleets, but lacks a strategy for engaging these segments to secure commitments from them.
Because VFC’s funding strategy is unique in soliciting cars and not dollars from individual taxpayers and increasingly from
fleet owners, the COMPASS team will need to include some members with shrewd marketing skills.
WENDT CENTER FOR LOSS AND HEALING
Washington, DC
www.wendtcenter.org
Mission: The Wendt Center’s mission is to ease the impact of illness, loss and bereavement through respect for
individuals and their experiences, an awareness of the pain of loss and loyalty to people in times of life-threatening illness,
transition and death through direct services, education and advocacy.
Project description: Wendt Center provides counseling and support to over 7,000 people each year in the Washington
area affected by loss and serious health issues. Wendt Center’s programs are offered to all, regardless of age or ability to
pay, and include the free Camp Forget-Me-Not for youth dealing with loss. The Compass team will assist Wendt Center in diversifying
its funding, including work to support the development of a planned giving program and an endowment. The vast majority of Wendt
Center’s funding currently comes from grants, patient and insurance payments, and its annual gala. Through this project,
COMPASS volunteers will help Wendt establish more stable, long-term funding.
WESLEY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Alexandria, VA
www.wesleyhousing.org
Mission: Wesley Housing Development Corporation's mission is to develop, own, operate, preserve, and maintain
affordable housing and sustain quality rental communities for low- and moderate-income persons in Northern Virginia.
Project description: By preserving and developing affordable rental housing, Wesley Housing provides low- and
moderate income families, seniors and disabled individuals with the security and dignity of a home. Wesley owns over 1,200
units and serves approximately 2,770 reisdents. As Wesley works to become a more professional organization with tighter controls
and better fundraising capabilities, they want to look at the role of their board. The Compass team will help identify the
board’s core competencies, provide guidelines for adding new board members, present board best practices, and make
recommendations for the board’s role in fundraising.
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COMPASS Projects for 2006-2007
Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington (BGCGW)
Silver Spring, MD
The mission of BGCGW is to help boys and girls of all backgrounds, with an emphasis on at-risk youth, to build confidence,
develop character and acquire the skills needed to become civic-minded responsible adults. BGCGW offers multiple after-school
and summer time programs. The BGCGW has engaged COMPASS to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of the Board of Directors,
given the current size (100 members), structure (one executive and three regional boards in DC) and future growth of the board.
COMPASS will work with the BGCGW to address the following objectives: evaluate best practices, assess the current board, and
develop recommendations, an implementation plan and communications strategy for the board. Volunteers with experience in
organizational assessment and transformation, market research, and basic business consulting skills are helpful but not required.
The Children's Inn at NIH
Bethesda, MD
The Inn provides a family-centered residence for pediatric outpatients and their families while children are being treated
for serious illnesses at the National Institutes of Health. The Inn serves 1,500 patients a year by providing housing, resident
services and family support services, all at no cost to the children or their families. The Inn has asked Compass to conduct a
fundraising study to: (a) determine the Inn's readiness to launch an endowment fundraising program and (b) create an endowment
growth strategy for the Inn to execute. Experience with fund-raising programs (especially capital fundraising), researching/surveying
and financial management are desired but not required.
Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services (GSHFS)
Alexandria, VA
GSHFS exists to provide short-term and longer-term housing to low income households in southern Fairfax County. GSHFS owns and/or
leases 70 rental units that it provides to it clientele at low cost, as well as financial counseling, homeless transition services
and emergency grants for families in crisis. GSHFS has asked Compass to conduct a fundraising study to evaluate the income potential
for GSHFS of selling its rental property management services to for-profit apartment owners as a source of added income for GSHFS.
Experience with residential rental real estate, loans for real estate purchases and financial management are desired but not required.
Hispanic Committee of Virginia (HCV)
Falls Church, VA
Hispanic Committee of Virginia enables Hispanic immigrants to more fully participate in and contribute to American society. HCV helps
clients overcome barriers of language, culture, isolation, and poverty by linking them to community services and empowering them with
new skills. The HCV project will identify ways to improve the effectiveness of the Board of Directors, given the past and future growth
of the Board. COMPASS will work with HCV to address the following objectives: analyze best practices, evaluate the board’s role,
develop a plan for HCV to strategically enlarge and diversify their board, as well as identify an effective committee structure. A
background in organizational assessment and transformation, market research, and basic business consulting experience is helpful but not required.
Hopkins House
Alexandria, VA
Hopkins House develops and operates educational programs and provides related services to assist children and youth from low-income,
working families, so they can achieve their full intellectual potential. The organization operates four programs: a memorial gift
program to support counseling and guidance for families impacted by violence; a program that encourages fathers to be involved
in their children’s education; a program helping moms with financial management skills; and a preschool childcare program.
Hopkins House needs assistance with strategic planning. Volunteers familiar with strategic planning tools, ncluding customer surveying,
would be especially helpful. Familiarity with family and child literacy is helpful but not essential.
Imagination Stage
Bethesda, MD
Imagination Stage is a family arts center located in Bethesda, Maryland committed to developing children, including those with disabilities,
through arts education and theatre. Imagination Stage offers a wide range of classes, workshops and camps in addition to their theatre
productions. Through a funding strategy, they are committed to developing a plan to accelerate the payoff of public financing on their new
facility through fundraising, as well as assessing the economic viability of several new programs. Volunteers with some knowledge of finance,
and an appreciation for the arts and children's programming would be a good match.
National Womens History Museum (NWHM)
Annandale, VA
The National Women's History Museum (NWHM) is an educational institution dedicated to preserving and celebrating the diverse contributions
of women to our nation's history through permanent and traveling exhibits. NWHM is hoping to occupy the Pavilion Annex adjacent to the
Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue as their permanent home, which will provide for almost 100,000 square feet of space. In
preparation for the capital campaign that will accompany the design, renovation and construction of this permanent home, NWHM is seeking
a funding strategy to, among other things, (1) develop specific fundraising goals (2) create a management strategy to implement the
campaign (3) create a realistic timeline to ensure project completion and (4) develop a targeted donor profile and message content.
Volunteers with marketing and market research experience as well as an interest in museum operations would be helpful but not required.
Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center (NV AHEC)
Alexandria, VA
The Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center’s (NV AHEC) goal is to increase access to primary healthcare for the local
non-English speaking population by recruiting, training and supporting interpreters to support healthcare providers and increase
cultural competency among caregivers. NVAHEC has requested assistance with strategic planning to support continued growth. They have
especially requested support in enhancing their cashflow management and revenue cycle. Team members with knowledge of budgeting,
financial reporting, and revenue management, in addition to strategic planning, would find their skills well-utilized, but no prior
experience is required.
The River School
Northwest, DC
The River School is a model school for best practices in early childhood, elementary education and speech-language pathology. Using a
unique teaching model that pairs a speech pathologist and an educator in each classroom, the School serves both hearing and children
with hearing loss (15-20% of attending students) from infancy through third grade. Last year, after a short 5 year history and remarkable
growth, the School began, with COMPASS support, to work on strategic alignment. The objective of the proposed COMPASS project is to help
articulate the strategic direction of the School through assistance in aligning all stakeholders behind a common vision and core set
of values and to create consensus regarding strategic priorities. Particularly beneficial to this project team would be volunteers
with skills/experience in strategic planning for nonprofits, interviewing (including synthesizing interview data) and budget analysis
but not required
Ronald McDonald House
Northeast, DC
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington, DC provide two houses in the greater DC area that serve as havens for families
of seriously ill children at Children’s, Walter Reed, Georgetown and Fairfax Hospitals. RMHC also provides other core programs
for seriously ill children and their families. RMHC has recently hired two new development staffers and is seeking strategies to broaden
its current revenue base. The COMPASS Project will focus on documenting a concrete "how to" development plan with target revenue
goals by donor category, allocation of staff time and expenses, articulation of board role/support, and action steps, calendar, etc.
Volunteer skills in planning, development/fund raising and finance will be highly valuable but not required.
Samaritan Inns
Northwest, DC
Samaritan Inns serves men and women in the Metro DC area who are homeless and addicted, over 21 years old, able to work at a job, and
willing to commit themselves to the demanding process of rebuilding their lives. The Inns’ rigorous three-phase, employment-oriented
Recovery Continuum helps homeless addicts transform their lives and move from life on the streets to “homeownership” by
providing safe, affordable housing together with addictions counseling and life-skills education. The main objective of the Compass coaching
project is to help the current ED, who is the successor to a strong, founding 20-year ED, become a stronger leader, as he assures a smooth
transition from his predecessor. Focus areas for the coaching will include ‘big picture’ strategic planning, forging a strong
relationship with the governing board, and developing a more effective communication style with different stakeholders. The optimal volunteer
coach will have experience coaching top level executives on leadership development; experience with nonprofit leadership and leaderhip
succession issues would be a plus
Washington Area Performing Arts Society (WPAS)
Northwest, DC
WPAS is one of the country’s leading multidisciplinary performing organizations, presenting over 50 music and dance performances in
area venues throughout the Washington Metropolitan region. WPAS also sponsors residencies, workshops, master classes, hundreds of free
performances in area public and charter schools, performances for seniors, and affordable family programming. About a year ago WPAS
embarked upon a strategic planning exercise during which it has collected valuable marketing data. The purpose of the proposed COMPASS
project is to augment and develop this information, analyze it and assess WPAS’ strengths and weaknesses, in order to produce viable
new programming options. The COMPASS effort would benefit from volunteers with experience in market research, but it is not required.
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COMPASS Projects for 2005-2006
Alexandria Seaport Foundation
Through the building and use of wooden boats, the Alexandria Seaport Foundation (ASF) helps young people turn their lives around and
provides families, community groups and schools with meaningful educational, social and recreational experiences. Through its Apprentice
Program, the ASF prepares at-risk and out-of-school youths for employment in the building trades.
ASF is a project addressing strategic positioning and sustainable funding in the future.
The Campagna Center
The Campagna Center has long been the largest local nonprofit serving children in Alexandria. Over 60 years, the Campagna Center has been
serving vulnerable children and families in Alexandria through an early head start programs, head start programs, after-school programs,
and tutoring.
The Campagna Center is a funding strategy project that will help reposition them in a changing social and political climate
Center for Inspired Teaching
Center for Inspired Teaching's mission is to renew education by changing what happens in school. They train teachers to inspire young
people to become knowledgeable, self-disciplined, and compassionate citizens. The Center has provided professional development to over
4000 teachers in Washington DC, with a particular emphasis on under-served communities and low-ranking schools that need their services
the most.
The Center for Inspired Teaching has engaged COMPASS to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of the Center for Inspired Teaching's
Board of Directors, particularly given its past and future growth. To this end, Compass will work with the Center for Inspired Teaching
to address the following objectives:
- Analyze best practices in board size, composition, committee structure, etc. for non-profits of similar size and scope
- Develop a plan for the Center for Inspired Teaching to strategically enlarge and diversify their board
- Identify ways for the Center for Inspired Teaching to build the capacity and skills of the board in the areas of fundraising and strategic planning
- Identify an effective committee structure for Center of Inspired Teaching's board of directors
Corcoran Gallery of Art, College of Art and Design
The Corcoran is “dedicated to art.” The museum presents, interprets and preserves the art of our times and of times past; its
college of art nurtures and helps shape new generations of artists and designers. The Corcoran is committed to making the historic art in
its collections and the emerging art of our time accessible and understandable to the broadest possible audience through innovative
exhibits and educational programming, systematic research and rigorous scholarships.
The Corcoran is asking a COMPASS team to work with them on a comprehensive analysis of their development operations for use in a 2006 major
strategic planning effort. The analysis would include the lifetime value of a donor, identification of those initiatives and activities
that produce the greatest return, and a profile of donor preferences and patterns of usage.
Hispanic Committee of Virginia
HCV is a community-based, non-profit organization working in Northern Virginia to enable Hispanic immigrants to more fully participate in
and contribute to American society. HCV helps clients overcome barriers of language, culture, isolation, and poverty by linking them to
community services and empowering them with new skills in addition to providing other means of assistance such as case management, job
matching, entrepreneurship training, and various consultations. Last year, HCV provided more than 101,000 services to more than 20,000
clients in 8,000 families
The Hispanic Committee of Virginia is a project that includes an assessment of current revenue sources and revenue-generation methods. The
Team is developing an improvement plan based on nonprofit best practices together with a tailored approach aligned with the organization's
mission, strategy, needs, and resources. The main objective is to help HCV focus its fundraising strategy and to diversify its funding
sources in order to strengthen the organization's financial position moving forward.
Miriam's Kitchen
Miriam's Kitchen provides individualized services that address the causes and consequences of homelessness, in an atmosphere of dignity
and respect, both directly and working with members of the Washington, DC community.
Miriam's Kitchen serves over 2,000 homeless individuals each year. Approximately 90 percent of their clients live with mental illness
and/or substance abuse. They serve this population through four programs: 1) Breakfast Program operating Monday through Friday; 2) Case
Management Program (runs concurrent with Breakfast Program); 3) After-Breakfast Program (a series of therapeutic workshops); 4) Arnold 's
Place Transitional Housing Program (a housing program for four formerly homeless men).
COMPASS is providing Executive Coaching
National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA)
NFCA's mission is to enhance the lives of America's caregiving families by educating, supporting, empowering, and speaking up for the
more that 50 million Americans who care for loved ones with chronic or disabling conditions or the frailties of old age. NFCA reaches
across the boundaries of diagnoses, relationships, and life stages to address the common needs and concerns of all family caregivers.
They are committed to improving the overall quality of life of caregiving families and minimizing the disparities between family
caregivers and non-caregivers.
Though they are a national organization, they are also the only organization in the metropolitan Washington region focused exclusively
on providing support to family caregivers. NFCA addresses the needs of family caregivers through an information and referral hotline
and email requests for information and resources.
NFCA is asking COMPASS to conduct an analysis of effective strategies to generate earned income. Compass volunteers will guide NFCA's
executive and key board members through a process that will help to frame earned income possibilities so that they can be assessed to
determine their feasibility as part of NFCA's long-term strategic growth.
The River School
The River School is a model school for best practices in early childhood, elementary education and speech-language pathology. Using
a unique teaching model that pairs a speech pathologist and an educator in each classroom, the River School serves both hearing and
children with hearing loss from infancy through third grade. Children with hearing loss comprise 10-15% of all attending students.
After a short 5 year history and remarkable growth, The River School is working with a team on strategic alignment. Some the issues
needing focus are enrollment size, accessibility and tuition assessment, recrafting the mission statement, and the possibility of
duplicating the school concept to other locations.
Strive DC
STRIVE DC combats the high unemployment rate in Washington, DC by providing job-readiness training, personal assistance in job
placement and two years of post-placement support for chronically unemployed people in the DC area.
The program provides three weeks of training on job readiness topics such as writing resumes and cover letters, completing job
applications, what to wear to interviews, how to accept criticism in the workplace and the importance of being on-time. Once a
participant graduates from training, he or she works with the job developers to find employment. STRIVE DC follows up with
graduates for two years after being placed in jobs or education.
COMPASS is helping Strive with an 18 month development plan.
Vehicles for Change
Vehicles for Change (VFC) provides automobiles to working poor families so that they can achieve the financial and personal
independence that comes from owning a vehicle. They help those who want to work become self sufficient and financially
independent by addressing their need for transportation. Since October 1999, over 3600 lives have been changed through the
awarding of more than 1,500 cars. Currently 40 to 50 cars are awarded each month in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia.
VFC's mission is to award as many cars as possible to residents of Maryland and Virginia who cannot afford to buy a car and
also to stimulate awareness of the need for individual transportation to the rest of the United States so that other car
award programs will be formed using VFC as a model.
A COMPASS team is providing VFC withthe guidance and process for strategic thinking and will create a timetable and the
necessary discipline and structure to formulate a strategic direction for the organization with guidelines and objectives
to be achieved over the next 3-5 years.
WACIF
WACIF's mission is to provide technical assistance and below market-rate loans to promote and support economic development
in low- and moderate-income communities in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. WACIF provides technical assistance and
below market-rate interest loans to small businesses, nonprofit affordable housing developers and other nonprofits, housing
cooperatives, center-based childcare providers, and low-income individuals who are starting their own businesses.
COMPASS is providing Executive Coaching
YMCA
A COMPASS team worked with the YMCA during the 2004-05 cycle. A team is continuing their work through this year's cycle.
The mission of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington is to foster the spiritual, mental and physical development of individuals,
families and communities according to the ideals of inclusiveness, equality and mutual respect for all. The YMCA offers core
services in five areas: children's services, teen services, family services, adult health and wellness, and community
development. These core services – at all program levels – support our overall objective of building strong kids,
strong families and strong communities.
COMPASS is helping the YMCA in a strategic alignment project in line with their “new story” about the Y. Some
changes anticipated include developing a family community environment, extension strategy for non-facility-based programs
by creating partnerships and alliances with others that extend the reach beyond their physical facilities, and recommitting
members to become more deeply involved with the Y.
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Past COMPASS Projects:
2004 Carlos Rosario Int'l Career Ctr.
2004 Children's Law Center
2004 Family and Child Services of Wash. DC
2004 For Love of Children (FLOC)
2004 Good Shephard Alliance
2004 Ivymount School
2004 Kidsave International
2004 National Building Museum
2004 So Others Might Eat (SOME)
2004 The Theatre Lab
2004 Two Rivers Public Charter School
2004 Washington Area Community Investment Fund
2004 Washington Performing Arts Society
2004 Yachad, Inc.
2004 YMCA of Metropolitan Washington
2003 Audubon Naturalist Society
2003 Bread for the City
2003 Capital Area Food Bank
2003 City Year Washington DC
2003 Habitat for Humanity of N. Virginia
2003 Latin American Youth Center
2003 So Others Might Eat (SOME)
2003 Washington Literacy Council
2003 Workforce Org. for Regional Collaborative
2003 YWCA of the National Capital Area
2002 The Urban Alliance
2002 For Love of Children
2002 Environmental Resources Trust
2002 BAPA's Imagination Stage
2002 American Red Cross
2002 City Year Washington, DC
2001 American Red Cross
2001 B.E.L.L. Foundation
2001 City Year Washington, DC
2001 Discovery Creek Children's Museum
2001 Environmental Resources Trust
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